Cowles and Rizkallah lead their teams to victory @ Sacopee

Sep 08, 2019

Cowles and Rizkallah lead their teams to victory

For what was for many the first Cross Country meet of the season, teams from Yarmouth, St. Dom's, North Yarmouth Academy, Fryeburg Academy, and host school Sacopee Valley, competed together on a cool day, good conditions for running. Sadie Cowles and Odeh Rizkallah, both seniors from Yarmouth, were the winners in each race, successfully navigating a difficult course which included some tricky terrain and a very challenging hill near the end of the race, along with a couple short but steep inclines. In addition, both runners led their teams to wins.

On the girls' side, Sadie Cowles of Yarmouth High School came out with the victory, leading the Clippers to a clear win over Fryeburg, the only other scoring team at the meet. The race began with three Fryeburg runners taking it out hard, with a strong pack from Yarmouth following close behind. A little past the halfway mark, Alana Nataluk from Fryeburg had a slight lead on the rest of the field, but Cowles was following her closely. There was a large gap between the top 10 and the rest of the field, and the top 10 was entirely made up of girls from Yarmouth and Fryeburg. This top group would remain clearly defined at the end of the race, but now, coming out of the woods to the finish, which was located across a field in the same place as the start, Cowles was on top. She would cross the line in 21:33, leading her team to the low score of 22. Nataluk would follow in second, running a strong 21:48. Yarmouth's Maddie Marston took the third spot, finishing in 22:27, with Merys Carty from Fryeburg following in fourth with a time of 22:40. Yarmouth's Natalie Teare was fifth in 22:49, and teammate Mary Psyhogeos would follow close behind in 22:53. The remainder of Yarmouth's top seven runners on the day followed right after her, as Addison Hounchell and Lindsay Smith ran near-identical times of 23:11 and 23:12, with Anna Thornton close behind in 23:21. Fryeburg's Juliana Stanton would round out the top 10 with her 23:23.

The top runner from St. Dom's was Sarah Brown, finishing in 25:08. Sacopee Valley's top finisher was Charlie Vaillancourt in 25:54, and NYA's top (and only) runner was Emma Collins, who finished in 26:27.

Yarmouth would secure the win with their 22 points, and Fryeburg would be second in 47. They were the only teams at the meet with enough runners to score.

In the boys' race, Saint Doms' William Levasseur took it out at the gun, the rest of the runners keeping him in their sights. By approximately the halfway point, Yarmouth's Odeh Rizkalla had taken the lead, but Lavasseur was still close behind him. Running in third was Chris Hamblett of NYA. By the finish, the top 3 had remained the same. Rizkallah would retain and build on his lead over the rest of the field, claiming the first spot in 17:58. Lavasseur would hold on for second, running a time of 18:18. Hamblett would keep his third position, finishing 18:42, leading his team to a second-place finish. Placing forth was Yarmouth's second runner, Anders Corey, finishing in 18:50. In fifth was NYA's James Tourigny, who closed hard, beating Yarmouth's Daniel Lamourie at the line for a time of 19 minutes flat. Lamourie would finish just behind him in 19:01. Next across the line were Yarmouth's Colin Senger and Lincoln Truesdale, finishing in 19:12 and 19:13 respectively, and also rounding out Yarmouth's top 5 runners for a winning score of 26. Also finishing in the top 10 were Fryeburg's Elijah Howe in 19:19 and Harrison from Yarmouth in 19:34.

In the team scoring, Yarmouth would take the top spot with a score of 26, beating the other teams in attendance by a large margin. NYA would follow with 54, and Fryeburg and St. Dom's would be third and fourth with 70 and 92 points respectively. Sacopee did not score as a team.

Sacopee Valley's top runner in the boys race was Obi Boucher, who finished in 23:52.

Next week, NYA and Yarmouth will travel to Gorham for the Southern Maine Classic on September 14th, while St. Dom's, Sacopee, and Fryeburg will all face off again on the 13th, this time at Fryeburg, along with Gray, Lake Region, Old Orchard, Traip, and Waynflete.

Girls top 10

1. Sadie Cowles Yarmouth 21:33

2. Alana Nataluk Fryeburg 21:48

3. Maddie Marston Yarmouth 22:27

4. Merys Carty Fryeburg 22:40

5. Natalie Teare Yarmouth 22:49

6. Mary Psyhogeos Yarmouth 22:53

7. Addison Hounchell Yarmouth 23:11

8. Lindsay Smith Yarmouth 23:12

9. Anna Thornton Yarmouth 23:21

10. Juliana Stanton Fryeburg 23:23

Boys top 10